This application is based on Japanese Patent Application No. 10-76097, the entire contents of which is incorporated herein by reference.
The present invention relates to a projection color liquid crystal display device of a single panel type which accomplishes color display via reflective liquid crystal display elements.
Conventional single panel projection-type color liquid crystal display devices are disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application Nos. 9-5774 and 8-114780 of a type which separates white light flux into light flux of the three primary colors and irradiates the same liquid crystal display element with the various light fluxes at different angles so as to project light flux modulated by the liquid crystal display element. Since the aforesaid art accomplishes projection with superior efficiency simply because it does not utilize a mosaic color filter and avoids wasting the light flux which does not pass through such a filter, it is suitable for liquid crystal projectors and the like which require a bright image.
Disadvantages arise in the aforesaid art, however, in that transmission type liquid crystals are invariably used which require a circuit linked to the pixel of the liquid crystal, thereby reducing aperture efficiency and reducing the brightness of the corresponding area. The TFT crystal typically used is provided with a transistor circuit for each pixel which blocks the transmission of light flux at that area.
An object of the present invention is to provide an improved color liquid crystal display device.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a color liquid crystal display element having high aperture efficiency.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a color liquid crystal display device which makes efficient use of light.
These objects are attained by providing a color liquid crystal display device comprising a separation means for separating white light flux from a white light source into red, green, and blue primary color light and bending the light fluxes in mutually different directions, a liquid crystal display element for modulating the light fluxes which enter from mutually different directions from the separation means to form a color image, and a projection means for projecting the light flux modulated by the liquid crystal display element, wherein the liquid crystal display element is a reflective type liquid crystal which reflects the light flux entering each pixel, and a lens element is disposed medially to the reflective liquid crystal and the separation means to condense the entering light flux to each pixel of the reflective liquid crystal, and wherein a different lens operation is performed relative to the entering light flux and the light flux modulated and reflected by the reflective liquid crystal by combining materials having birefringence characteristics in the lens element.
The invention itself, together with further objects and attendant advantages, will be understood by reference to the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.